Long-Haired Hippie Freak...

I recently suggested to Ethan that we get his hair cut before the holidays, what with the grandparents coming and the plethora of pictures sure to be snapped during said visits. He looked at me with much chagrin and nixed that plan, stating, "No, Mommy. I have Beatles hair."

The obsession with the Beatles has reached all kinds of new heights. We listen to them every morning on our way to school. Ethan's current line of questioning goes beyond, "What song is this?" or "What is Paperback Writer singing about?" to things like, "Mommy, is this John singing, or Paul?" or since he doesn't quite get the concept of harmonizing, "Mommy, why does Paul sound so weird in this song?"

His teacher has incorporated Ethan's love of the Beatles into the class room by bringing in instrumental versions of their music (which is so much better than the kids going home singing, "look at them run like pigs from a gun" or "pornographic priestess, boy you been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down,"). I love that they are tuned in (no pun intended) to his musical interests enough to nurture them. His school makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

But anyway, back to the hair (is it really only day 8 of NABLOPOMO and I'm already talking about my kid's hair??!! People, the well is dry. I imagine day 25 will just be the sound of crickets chirping). He looks so grown up and handsome with it cut short and close to his head--we're not talking buzz-cut; I think Husband I would both weep at that. It looks sweet on lots of boys, but Ethan just isn't a buzz-cut type of kid. We just tend to say, "neaten it up and short enough so we won't be back in three weeks." And what we normally get is:

Yeah, I mostly chose that picture because he's clodding down the hallway in a pair of my peep-toe black patten leather stilettos and a string of purple Mardi Gras beads. And that's fabulous. But his hair is also very short in the picture.

What we have now is this:

he looks especially Beatle-y in this picture, I think.

"Here comes the sun...and I'm going to eat it! Nom nom nom."

and if he gets a hold of some styling product while I'm not looking?

I can't bring myself to cut it, people. It's too stinking cute. If I do say so myself (and I do.) So while people might think it is lazy parenting that my kid's hair is all but in his eyes these days, I say it is allowing a child to channel his inner-Beatle.